Risks can be Ripples

Risk…a prerequisite for innovation…fostered by trust…defying failure…a source of lessons learned. There’s a risk dichotomy in education. On the talk-the-talk side, we are all for students taking risks in their learning. On the walk-the-walk side, when it comes to making a stand or defying the odds on behalf of the profession, we often play it safe.

That’s alright. If we were interested in high-risk careers, we’d be stunt drivers and stock brokers. For us, the return on investment comes in making a difference in other’s lives…in the love of learning in a child’s eyes. For all its challenges, teaching remains one of the most noble of professions.

The good news is, risks don’t have to be game-changing go-for-it gut checks. Risks can be ripples…small acts asserting our influence on the world:

- Stepping outside your comfort zone

- Building trust from scratch

- Modeling resilience

- Espousing a vision

- Supporting others

- Acting aspirationally

- Questioning assumptions

- Contributing to open dialogue

- Refusing to accept the status quo

- Moving beyond past victories

- Redefining success

- Rising above pettiness

- Seeking new resources

- Learning from mistakes

- Refusing to see failure as defeat

Of course you do many of these things already…but consistently…and with intent?

Make it habit…your calling card…be daringly deliberate in practicing your own personal brand of risk-taking.

The world is not changed in a single storm or season…it changes over time with every ripple we cast upon its waters...joining with other's efforts...creating currents, quickening their flow...eroding the old, building up the new...reviving...redefining...reinventing...making the world a better place. Isn't this the charge of educators everywhere?

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